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Amazon.com is planning to open a third large distribution center with hundreds of jobs in tax-friendly Indiana, finding refuge from other states that have attempted to force the online retail giant to collect sales tax. Seattle-based Amazon is announcing today that it plans to open a 900,000-square-foot Internet order fulfillment center in Indianapolis this summer but gave few other details. It declined to disclose the facility's precise location. Company officials said the facility will create hundreds of jobs. That figure could go higher, considering that an existing Amazon fulfillment center in Whitestown has 1,200 full-time workers. Another in Plainfield opened

Didn't they also threaten Tennessee with leaving over a sales tax issue?

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.C. S. LewisDo not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives. (Are you listening Barry)?:mad:Ayn Rand

Didn't they also threaten Tennessee with leaving over a sales tax issue?

Yep. Jeff Bezos is more of a lib in his political dealings (he and his family have given campaign contributions to some Republicans, but they've given more to Democrats, including some truly odious leftists), but he's clearly a conservative where business is concerned.

Not necessarily. Some states would rather have gainfully employed citizens and will agree to keep the tax profile low.

OTOH, some states would rather punish productive businesses out of ideological blindness or simple greed for those tax dollars. Either way, Amazon doesn't have to sit there and take it.

Amazon is looking for a competitive advantage and their customers being free from paying sales tax is an advantage. Their management has a fiduciary responsibility to exploit that advantage however they can. This isn't about ideology; it is about money. I am sure that those who control the actions of Amazon like the services provided by states and municipalities as much as the next guy (I guarantee you they rely on the police, fire department, water department, ect ...) but if they can get more customers and sell more soap by taking advantage of favorable tax policy, they have to take it. It is up to the state and municipal governments to ensure all compete equally; not the businesses.

Amazon is looking for a competitive advantage and their customers being free from paying sales tax is an advantage. Their management has a fiduciary responsibility to exploit that advantage however they can. This isn't about ideology; it is about money.

Yes. Yes it is.

Originally Posted by Arroyo_Doble

I am sure that those who control the actions of Amazon like the services provided by states and municipalities as much as the next guy (I guarantee you they rely on the police, fire department, water department, ect ...) but if they can get more customers and sell more soap by taking advantage of favorable tax policy, they have to take it. It is up to the state and municipal governments to ensure all compete equally; not the businesses.

I'm sure that they do rely on municipal services. And if that were all that the states spent taxes on, to the exclusion of social engineering, entitlements and a raft of other BS, then you'd have a valid point. But, as we both know, some states tax and spend far more than others, and much of it goes to things that have nothing to do with the safety or quality of life of the people of the state, and much to do with the pet projects and agendas of the mandarins who administer the funds. Amazon is under no obligation to pay for a state's graft.

so, how do you figure out where to tack on the sales tax? is it where you're sitting when you buy it, is it where it's shipped from, is it where it's delivered too? thees are all very really questions that have no easy answers other than to not tax them at all. The states would benefit more from just having employed citizens who pay taxes than driving jobs away